53 charged in fraud, identity-theft ring

53 charged in fraud, identity-theft ring

NEWARK, N.J.

Federal authorities in New Jersey say they’ve broken up a large-scale identity-theft-and-fraud ring that stretches from the insular Korean enclaves of northern New Jersey to U.S. territories in the Pacific.

Fifty-three people, many of them Korean immigrants, are charged with helping people fraudulently obtain credit cards, bank accounts and loans using illegally obtained Social Security numbers.

Gunman kills mom, himself at hospital

BALTIMORE

A man who became distraught as he was being briefed on his mother’s condition by a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital pulled a gun and shot the doctor Thursday, then killed his mother and himself in her room at the world-famous medical center, police said.

The doctor, who was wounded in the abdomen, was expected to survive.

The gunman, Paul Warren Pardus, 50, had been listening to the surgeon about midday when he “became emotionally distraught and reacted ... and was overwhelmed by the news of his mother’s condition,” Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said.

Police: Acid attack was self-inflicted

VANCOUVER, Wash.

Police say a Vancouver woman threw acid in her own face then lied to investigators, saying a woman she did not know was responsible.

Vancouver Police Chief Clifford Cook said Thursday that Bethany Storro admitted fabricating a story about the attack in which she suffered severe burns.

Cook said he does not know a motive for her actions.

Associated Press